Simple Tribal Folk

[In truth, the desert tribe people did not explain themselves. After seeing how ferocious you were, their first reaction was shock, and then they hastily fled back into the tribe.]

[You strolled leisurely, slowly walking into this tribe where simple and rugged styles coexisted. The outer perimeter was fenced with some kind of wood and animal bones, but since it was daytime, the gate was open.]

[Before you could take in the tribe's customs and scenery, those tribal warriors who had thrown spears at you brought over a towering, burly... burly woman.]

[She was nearly two meters tall, her arms thicker than an ordinary man's thighs, with a fierce and unrestrained face. If not for her pectoral muscles being so grotesquely developed, you wouldn't have been able to tell her gender at all.]

[The burly woman wielded a spiked club, about a meter long from head to handle, made entirely of solid hard stone. The club head was densely carved with stone spikes, and its weight alone was likely no less than 150 jin.]

[When the burly woman saw you, her first move wasn't to fight but to spout a string of gibberish. Seeing that you didn't understand, she tilted her head in boredom, then swung the club at you. The hard stone spiked club tore through the air with a hissing sound as it swung.]

[With your eyesight, you could tell this strike was heavy and powerful, equivalent to an impact force of two thousand or even three thousand jin. Very few Second-rate Martial Artists could block it, and even First-rate Martial Artists before reaching Vital Energy Infused into Bone would rarely choose to take it head-on.]

[But you were a Martial Master, a Martial Master with top-tier foundations at the Muscles and Bones Ringing in Harmony stage.]

[As your vital energy surged, you were more than capable of blocking this strike. Your weapon had already been upgraded from the Mysterious Iron Saber to the Frost Bright Saber, the blade shifting from pitch black to silver white. You slashed upward from below to meet the descending spiked club!]

[With a deafening crash, a cracking sound came from the burly woman's hand. Her fingers twisted and bent into a useless shape, and the spiked club flew out of her grip, shooting dozens of meters away. Only then did an old man come running from afar, shouting in broken Three Kingdoms Language and tribal tongue to stop.]

[But by the time he arrived, he was stunned to find that the one at a disadvantage—being utterly dominated—was actually Akachi, the tribe's fiercest warrior, capable of fighting off a dozen men.]

[These tribesmen didn't need the old man to shout for them to stop; they were already too terrified to approach. Whether to stop or not was entirely your decision.]

[The old man hastily apologized to you. He was the Shaman Doctor of this "Snake Fang" tribe (he knew no sorcery or spells, just had more knowledge and could mix various folk remedies), and he was fluent in Three Kingdoms Language.]

[The old man explained that this conflict was purely a misunderstanding. These young men had mistaken you for a Grassland Person from the west. Only he, hearing the description, felt something was off and rushed over, recognizing you as someone from the East—that mysterious and powerful land where Martial Arts flourished.]

[From the old man, you learned their worldview: this desert was the center of the world, home to hundreds of tribes, and the "Snake Fang" tribe was one deep within the desert.]

[A month's journey westward (you estimated about a thousand li) led to the grasslands, where nomadic tribes were ancient enemies of the desert tribes. The origin of the conflict was lost to time, but in short, the desert tribes wanted to charge into the grasslands, seize territory, and grab water sources, while the nomadic tribes wanted to wipe out the desert people.]

[Just now, the young men of the "Snake Fang" tribe had mistaken your unfamiliar face for a Grassland Person sneaking deep into the desert's rear, so they attacked directly. But the Shaman Doctor knew that if you traveled eastward through the Great Desert, deeper and deeper, crossing the fury of the sandstorms, there existed a place beyond imagination!]

[The strength of the experts there was simply inconceivable. They could easily obtain "secret arts" (i.e., martial arts, martial techniques). The powerful warriors of the desert and grassland tribes, when they went to the East, were only considered "Second-rate" or "First-rate," with three or four higher levels above them.]

[Although ordinary people still existed in the Eastern lands, anyone who could cross the Great Desert to reach here was undoubtedly powerful. That was why the old Shaman Doctor had rushed over... but he hadn't expected you to be strong enough to crush that female warrior: Akachi.]

[As the saying goes: "No fight, no friendship." At the apology feast hosted by the old Shaman Doctor and the tribe chief, you indicated that you would overlook the earlier offense and forgive them once. There was no need to make mortal enemies of the natives right after arriving.]

[You began to learn about the situation here from the old Shaman Doctor (since he was the only one who could communicate with you). To him, you claimed to be a traveler. After some conversation, he expressed willingness to trade the tribe's most precious map, medical techniques, and other items for something from you.]

[Curious about what he wanted, you found out that the old Shaman Doctor only needed a "secret art" (orthodox martial arts). In the many desert tribes, secret arts were sacred and extremely difficult to obtain!]

[For example, in their "Snake Fang" tribe, only the top warrior (the burly woman) Akachi, after going to a major tribe for a sacred ritual and swearing loyalty with her soul, was deemed worthy to learn a secret art.]

Yun Shou: "So, a year later, when the refugees from the Three Kingdoms fled here en masse, didn't you blow them up?"

[You fell silent. That female warrior, whose combat power rivaled a top-tier Second-rate, hadn't even trained in martial arts? She didn't even have inner energy? It seemed she was a genius with a peculiar martial talent, similar to those with a "Dragon Elephant Strength" constitution, though she was one or two tiers weaker, with something like an "Iron Bones Steel Tendons" constitution.]

[This kind of constitution starts out ten times stronger than an ordinary person, even dozens of times, but it's an additive bonus—their constitution +10, not their constitution ×10. Their foundation is usually only two or three times that of a normal person. As their Martial Cultivation improves, the gap with peers of the same level shrinks...]

[For example, this burly woman. If her foundation were a notch weaker than yours, and you were both ordinary people, she'd crush you with her two-plus times foundation. But if you were both Martial Masters, she'd only have the upper hand. At the Grandmaster level, it would be a draw, and then your advantage would grow larger and larger.]

[Under the Shaman Doctor's eager gaze, you pondered for a moment and offered the "Iron Body Technique," a common martial art. Though it was widespread in the Three Kingdoms, it was actually a fairly decent martial art, with comprehensive effects and no obvious flaws—just a bit low on "stats."]

[When the Shaman Doctor heard that you were "authorizing" the "Snake Fang" tribe to use the Iron Body Technique freely, rather than limiting it to just one or two people, he immediately knelt and performed a grand bow.]

[The chief beside him jumped out and scolded the Shaman Doctor, berating him for bowing so deeply to an outsider, shaming the tribe as if they were worthless.]

[Shaman Doctor: "Such and such, thus and thus."]

[One more person joined in the grand bow.]

[You watched expressionlessly as passing tribal elders and others went through the cycle of "anger—doubt—understanding—joining." Soon, the Shaman Doctor, afraid that news of their "unrestricted secret art" would spread, apologized profusely and said they couldn't bow anymore for now, but once back in their huts, they would each secretly pay respects to you.]

[You couldn't help but marvel at this tribe's high level of integrity. If you had said, "The Iron Body Technique is for only one person to practice," they probably would have let only the tribe's strongest warrior train in it—and might even have let him take the Iron Body Technique to the grave.]

[At most, they'd exploit a loophole: only one person per generation would practice it, but two would know the technique. If one died or was crippled, the other could start training, and they'd find a "reserve" to learn the full text...]

"Too pure!"